


Serpents by Blood

by julietophelia



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Post-3x09, Toni Topaz Deserves Better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-11 17:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17451647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julietophelia/pseuds/julietophelia
Summary: The Serpents were safe, Toni was safe, and never the twain shall meet.





	Serpents by Blood

**Author's Note:**

> A brief attempt at fix-it fic. Is Riverdale even worth trying to fix? Probably not. Toni getting kicked out of the Serpents is incredibly dumb and annoying, but what else is new? The worst part is, it could actually make for some decent angst if only the writers thought of Toni as a person.
> 
> On the bright side, I heard Archie got eaten by a bear? Also incredibly dumb, but ridiculous shit like that is why this show clawed its way into my heart originally. Like I assume the bear clawed its way into Archie's heart.

Jughead parked his bike outside Thistlehouse and looked up at the large stone structure. Every single Serpent who was still without a trailer could have taken shelter behind those walls. The vintage jewelry Cheryl pinned to her designer clothes could have fed them for a year. He'd never demanded she give up either. All he'd asked from her was to lay low and not implicate them in her crime spree.

Cheryl and Toni passed through the gate and got off their bikes. "You're obviously not invited in, Dracula," Cheryl said. "We'll fetch the stupid egg for you."

"Thank you, Cheryl. Toni, could you stay here? I need to talk to you, alone." 

Toni froze in place, but wouldn't turn to look at him.

"We don't have anything more to say to each other." 

He stepped in front of Toni and met her eyes. "Yes, we do."

"Are you holding my girlfriend hostage?"

Toni sighed. "Go ahead, Cheryl. I can deal with him." 

Cheryl kept walking, leaving them behind.

"What is it, Jones? You want to skin off my tattoo?"

"I want to know why."

"I don't owe you an explanation. You kicked me out of my family, my blood family." She looked skyward and sniffed. "And they all just agree that you get to do that."

"I didn't want this. You know I couldn't go back on my word in front of everyone."

"No, you had to make an example out of us. Out of me."

"All of this is so unlike you. Stealing for kicks? Antagonizing Hiram Lodge? He would kill you, Toni, for less reason than a jeweled egg."

"I'm not afraid."

"You should be. I am. What would your grandfather think about you going around robbing houses?"

"Don't you dare give me some crap about disrespecting my ancestors." 

"It's like ever since you got with Cheryl you don't care about anyone but her."

"Like you don't shack up on Elm Street as often as you can. So what if I want something nice for once? My dad didn't scam me into the good schools. I didn't go on playdates with Archie and Betty. You spent most of your life pretending you weren’t from the Southside."

"Until I met you. I wouldn't be here without you. I might not have even survived Southside High." 

"What do you want me to say to that?"

"I want you to give me a reason to ask you to stay." He didn't know how to do this without her.

"You want the reason why? Because it was fun. That's it. We rolled around in piles of cash while Fangs was risking his neck to keep his mother alive."

"Are you at least sorry?"

She set her jaw. "A leader should have the courage of their convictions, Jones."

"Goodbye then. Enjoy your piles of money."

"Fine." She looked down. "You haven't told my grandpa what I did? That you were kicking me out?"

"No. But someone will sooner or later if you don't."

She nodded, then turned away. He watched Toni walk up the long driveway, until she reached the door and Thistlehouse swallowed his friend whole.

…

They may not be in the same gang anymore, but they did still, on occasion, go to school, and they had English together.

Toni stared straight ahead or at her books for the whole hour. He could see her bright red fingernails from across the room. 

They went on like that for weeks. The pink dye faded from Toni's hair, and she didn't touch it up. She looked like Cheryl's shadow when they walked through the halls holding hands, dressed like twins. _Look at how much I don't need you_ , she screamed at him every time they passed each other, without saying a word.

There'd been no mention of any more robberies in the news, so either they had hung up their catsuits, or they'd gotten a lot better. Either way, the Serpents were safe. Toni was safe. Never the twain shall meet.

He'd almost resigned himself to Toni becoming another stranger in the crowd. Then one day he stood up after class to find her hovering by his desk. He wouldn't have recognized the girl in front of him if he'd seen her a month ago.

"Is Fangs okay?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yeah, he's good. His mom's doing good."

"I bet he and Sweet Pea hate me for ratting them out."

"No, of course not. They miss you like crazy. You should talk to them."

She took a deep breath. "I've been so mad. At you, at Cheryl, mostly at myself. I feel so selfish and stupid."

"Hey, we've all messed up. God knows I have." 

"You've always tried to protect us. I put the Serpents in danger just to make Cheryl happy."

"You _are_ the Serpents, no matter what I say. It's ridiculous to pretend otherwise." He touched her shoulder, amazed that she let him. "I gave Fangs a job, a way to earn his way back in." 

She could walk Hot Dog for all he cared. He just needed something the others would buy. Something that wouldn't make him look as weak as he felt.

She chewed her lip, wearing away the scarlet makeup. "I think I need to figure out who I am besides a Serpent or Cheryl's girlfriend. I’m always following someone around, going from one extreme to the other, like I’m afraid to think for myself."

"Alright. I'm really sorry, Toni."

She hugged him. He buried his nose in faded blonde curls that should be pink, felt silk on her back where there should be leather.

"If I ever needed a place to crash—"

"Wait, did you and Cheryl break up?"

"No. Not yet. I don't know. I'm thinking about it. She doesn't understand why it's such a big deal for me. She just wants to pull me into her life so we can move on. I feel like her damn doll sometimes. But—" _I don't have anywhere else to go,_ she left unspoken.

He'd taken away her options. He knew how terrible it was to be dependent on someone's charity, feeling like you had to keep them happy to survive. Even if you didn't want to leave, it was terrifying to know that you couldn’t.

"You always have a bed with us, if you need it. Jacket or no jacket. We take care of our own."


End file.
